Rangers trying to process why they came up short in their Stanley Cup quest (2024)

SUNRISE, Fla. - Chris Kreider paused when he first heard the question, then turned and fidgeted in his locker for a few seconds more.

When he finally looked back with wide eyes, the words still weren't coming to him.

"It's hard to process in the moment," the Rangers' longest-tenured player said.

Kreider spoke on behalf of a devastated group that was struggling to come to grips with the end of a season they believed had the makings of something great.

In many respects, it did.

"I think about what we built as a team here," captain Jacob Trouba said. "It just felt special this year. It felt like we had something in this room. There was a bond."

Column: Rangers' memorable season comes to bitter end; what's next?

These rousing Rangers had a heck of a run.

They captured their fourth-ever Presidents' Trophy while breaking the franchise record for wins (55) and total points (114). They also gained a reputation for gutting out hard-to-believe wins, with their 34 combined comeback victories between the regular season and playoffs setting a new NHL record.

They opened the postseason by matching their previous high mark for consecutive playoff wins with seven, fueling comparisons to their last championship team in 1994 that did the same thing. They hit a minor speed bump with two straight losses to the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round, but Kreider's third-period hat trick in the close-out game of that series felt like the stuff of legend.

Fans were calling them a team of destiny, with that belief strongest within the walls of their locker room. But the Florida Panthers proved to be a cut above, leaving little doubt about their status as the Eastern Conference's best.

Saturday's 2-1 win in Game 6 at Amerant Bank Arena sealed it, ending a series that never felt as close as some of the scores may have indicated.

"This is not where we wanted to be," Mika Zibanejad said. "It's just an empty feeling."

'It was difficult to score'

The Panthers stifled the Rangers by allowing just 12 goals in the six games, with five coming in New York's Game 3 overtime win. That left only seven goals in the other five games combined for an average of 1.4 per contest.

That, according to head coach Peter Laviolette, led to the Blueshirts' ultimate downfall.

"It was difficult to score − generating the quality that we wanted to generate," he said. "We knew that coming in. We knew it from the way they finished the season. We knew it from the first round, the second round, and coming in that they weren't given up a lot. And ultimately, I think that's something that we were able to do pretty consistently throughout the course of the year. You look at the scores, you look at the games − low-scoring, one-goal games. And ultimately, I think just trying to find that next goal inside of a game proved to be the difference."

Florida used its relentless forecheck to disrupt the Blueshirts' breakout attempts and constantly pin them in their own zone. And on the occasions when the Rangers did breakthrough and set up possession, they couldn't get into the high-danger areas often enough to sustain pressure on Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

The final result was a 203-150 edge in shots on goal and 469-370 advantage in attempts. Florida finished with 15.26 expected goals at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick, compared to 9.27 for New York.

"They got to their game more consistently," Kreider said. "They were dialed in on what they were doing and they broke the puck out 99% of the time on the strong side. We needed to do a better job knowing that was the case, and we did it in spurts. There were opportunities for us to generate offense going low to high, shooting pucks quick, spreading them out in the D zone. We did it in spurts, (but) they got to their game more often than we did."

The drop-off from the players the Rangers relied on to produce offense all season was glaring. Zibanejad was held without a goal, while Kreider and Artemi Panarin each scored only once apiece. In fact, Kreider and Zibanejad failed to register a single point at 5v5 and no Ranger had more than three.

The power play struggles were especially damning, with a unit that finished as the league's third-most efficient during the regular season limited to only one goal in 15 attempts this series.

"You want to score goals and get the offense going," Zibanejad said. "Obviously, that's how you win games, at the end of the day. It's frustrating. I think we had chances. It's like, we're pushing, we're pushing until the last second. ... I thought we did a pretty good job just trying to stay the course and just taking the next shift and try to do something − try to get pucks and bodies and try create something. We knew it wasn't gonna be easy. We knew it wasn't going to be the pretty goals, but I thought we tried to throw everything that we had. It just wasn't enough."

'The best player on our team'

The main reason the Rangers even had a chance to extend the series to Game 7 was Igor Shesterkin.

He was their backbone throughout the playoffs, helping overcome offensive droughts and defensive breakdowns. That included 32 saves in Game 6, several of which came on breakaways and odd-man rushes.

It was hard to fault him for either of the Panthers' goals, with Sam Bennett scoring first on a screaming top-corner one-timer after Trouba ran himself out of the play and Vladimir Tarasenko cementing the win with a backdoor finish at the end of a three-on-two opportunity.

Florida coach Paul Maurice said, "I haven't seen a series like that from a goaltender since (Montreal Canadiens goalie) José Théodore in 2002."

"We’re not even in this position without him," Trouba said. "I don't think anybody in this room thinks otherwise. He was outstanding. He’s been the best player on our team all playoffs – probably all year.”

Shesterkin finished the series with a .935 save percentage and kept the Rangers in every game.

Three of their four losses came by only one goal, adding to the feeling that they let who Kreider referred to as "our best player ever since he's put on a Rangers' jersey" down.

"You think about every little play, every missed opportunity, every mistake, and it hurts," Fox said. "When the games are that tight, it sits with you − every little play that you maybe could have done differently."

'The hardest part'

As the postgame minutes went by, the finality set in.

This tight-knit group, which went through nine months of intense practices and grueling schedules while racking up 65 total wins, is now heading into a summer of uncertainty.

"When you grow so close with a group of individuals, with a team, and then fall short − I mean, unfortunately there's always changes," Kreider said. "We're never going to have this exact group together again. That's the hardest part."

Fourteen of the 20 players who dressed for Game 6 are under contract for next season, but that doesn't guarantee anything.

Who knows what comes next as team president Chris Drury evaluates the roster's shortcomings and makes decisions about what's needed to take the next step.

"In pro sports, you don't keep everyone," Fox said. "Teams change, but I think the culture we built here and the camaraderie we had is something that (lasts). You're going to have some turnover, but I think the foundation is there."

The Rangers began to lay that foundation with their run to the conference final two seasons ago, then got a dose of humility with last year's first-round exit. That felt like a step in the learning process of becoming a champion, with this supposed to be the year it all came together.

Instead, they're left to wonder where it went wrong and how many more cracks they'll get at ending the franchise's 30-years-and-counting title drought before the window closes. That's the standard they're striving for, with none of the players taking much consolation in coming so close.

"We were first place in the league all year," Fox said. "Obviously, we thought we could win the whole thing. Whenever you got that guy in net (Shesterkin), you always have a chance - even two years ago - and this year was no different. The goal from training camp was to win a Cup and we came up short."

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work atlohud.com/sports/rangers/and follow him on Twitter@vzmercogliano.